Secret Suburb: Creating masterpieces

Peter Inglis teaches people how to paint the masters in four hours. Picture: Adam Taylor

" YOU may think St Leonards is just another stop on the rail line. But, get out and explore and you will find a whole world of hidden treasures. Here we uncover a few of its secrets. "

It takes a bundle of energy and a bucket of optimism to teach five naysayers that yes, they can indeed paint. But after a four-hour workshop and a Monet later, Pete forgoes the “I told you so” and accepts the thanks from his group of recent converts. Of course, these students aren’t producing perfect reproductions, but the point it that they are producing something recognisable — and for the people who started off saying they weren’t artistic, this is a pretty big accomplishment.

"It’s simple," says Pete.

"We sketch an outline of the largest parts and within those 30 seconds, you can already see that some of them are starting to get what’s going to happen. It wonderful to watch."

Pete also uses the same technique to teach guitar, but mastering one skill is enough for this week.